High CPC Keywords for Google Ads in 2024 [Ultimate List]
Google ads are expensive, and the most expensive keywords on their platform can reach over $500 CPC (cost per click).
Google generates over $250bn per year from advertising revenue. The majority of this comes from search ads specifically.
In this article, we're going to investigate the highest cost per click (CPC) search terms to see what keywords are the most expensive for advertisers to bid on within Google ads.
METHODOLOGY
Here's how we got accurate CPC data
- First, we carefully researched what the most expensive keywords are according to other sources, in order to give us a foundation of knowledge.
- We used the latest real data from Google Ads keyword planner, specifIcally for searches in the USA.
- We displayed the 'top of page bid' for each keyword - So this is the highest amount you would be expected to ever pay for these keywords.
- We purposefully did not use 3rd party tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush because they're prone to mistakes, and we found that most other guides on the internet displayed inaccurate data from these tools.
Example: We found an article from HubSpot claiming that "Houston Maritime Attorney" had a CPC of $1,090 USD. However, after checking ourselves direct at the source (Google Ads) we found the true CPC to be $60 USD.
So this article aims to show only the most relevant, real data available.
We've broken things down into keyword categories based on industry, so that you can get a clear picture of what expensive keywords advertisers are bidding high prices for in each industry.
We've tried to keep this as varied as possible to show a wide range of different keyword types. If we simply displayed a 'pure' list of the highest CPC keywords, it would be extremely boring with lots of synonyms.
HIGHEST CPC KEYWORDS BY INDUSTRY
Next, we're going to break down the highest cost per click industries and then identify what the most expensive keywords are for each industry.
1) LEGAL
The legal space is the clear 'winner' when it comes to the highest cost per click keywords. It includes the most expensive keyword we found throughout all of our research as well...
Here are the highest cost per click keywords we found in the legal industry:
Truck Collision Attorney: $1,003.68
Construction Accident Lawyer Near Me: $531.63
Accident Attorney Fresno CA: $519.46
Pedestrian Accident Attorney Near Me: $501.53
Truck Accident Attorney Near Me: $501.53
Oil Rig Injury Lawyer: $747.84
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Near Me: $352.61
Offshore Accident Lawyer: $396.85
El Paso Accident Lawyers: $359.89
Birth Injury Lawyer Near Me: $291.32
Car Accident Lawyer Near Me: $290.61
Personal Injury Attorney Nearby: $249.89
Mesothelioma Attorney Assistance: $232.66
18 Wheeler Accident Lawyer San Antonio: $225.60
Mesothelioma Law Firm: $215.92
Wrongful Death Attorney Near Me: $188.64
Houston Trucking Accident Attorney: $160.49
Truck Accident Attorney Dallas: $154.00
Aviation Accident Lawyer: $150.48
Car Accident Lawyer Jacksonville: $150.48
DUI Defense Lawyer: $114.02
Maritime Lawyer New Orleans: $120.42
California Auto Accident Lawyer: $119.58
Auto Accident Attorney California: $119.58
2) EDUCATION
The U.S. education market is estimated to be at $1.4 trillion in 2021, and growing to $3.1 trillion by 2030.
It costs around $146,000 on average to send a child to college for 4 years.
So it's no surprise that the education niche demands some of the highest cost per click keywords in the World.
Here's a selection of the top keywords we discovered along with their CPC:
Online College Business Degree: $298.86
Online Masters Degree in Business Administration: $106.88
Online Degree Criminal Justice: $90.94
Fastest Criminal Justice Degree Online: $78.99
Online Business Degree Florida: $76.60
Online Masters Degree Programs in Healthcare Administration: $74.39
Online Psychology Bachelor's Degree: $72.96
Online MBA Program: $63.38
3) SOFTWARE
The software or SaaS industry has some astonishingly high CPC keywords.
That's because advertisers can afford to spend a large amount to acquire customers - After all, many of them don't have a huge number of other overheads or business expenses besides maintaining their software.
Here's some of the highest CPC keywords we found in the software space:
Help Desk Software for Small Business: $207.78
Employee Management Software for Small Business: $179.31
Best HR Software for Small Business: $175.58
Virtual Data Rooms: $112.91
Marketing Automation Software for Small Business: $103.32
ERP Software: $84.30
Small Business Call Center Software: $83.71
Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions: $70.19
Alteryx Server Cost: $202.38
Manage SaaS Spend: $202.38
HR Performance Review Software: $106.03
LMS for Training Companies: $97.77
Cloud Based Call Centre Software: $96.56
Networking Monitoring Software: $65.17
Deal Management Software: $50.90
Data Room: $115.27
Enterprise VPN: $67.77
Corporate VPN: $54.57
Cloud AWS: $100.93
Payroll Software: $91.16
Email Marketing Solution: $50.49
4) B2B SERVICES
B2B services are some of the most profitable industries in the World, and that's why advertisers are happy to spend a huge amount on Google ads to acquire new customers.
Below are some of the highest cost per click keywords we found in the B2B services space - Everything from reception services to financial auditing.
Offshore Software Engineer: $253.22
Employer of Record Services: $184.30
Call Answering Services: $166.68
Corporate Business Travel Agency: $133.64
Best Legal Answering Service: $116.90
Virtual Reception Services: $109.24
SharePoint Intranet Consultants: $100.28
Business Internet San Francisco: $121.34
Business Internet San Francisco: $121.34
Google Ad Marketing Agency: $202.52
Payroll Service Providers for Small Business: $125.31
Amazon PPC Agency USA: $121.52
Outsource Website Development: $112.94
PPC Advertising Experts: $102.11
Law Firm SEO Company NYC: $90.37
Business Travel Services: $87.31
Business Insurance: $81.57
Corporate Travel Management: $79.91
Legal SEO Company: $78.98
AdWords PPC Management Services: $75.84
Google Ads Marketing Agency: $75.14
React Native Experts: $72.56
AI Driven Customer Service: $72.81
Sustainable Business Consulting: $69.63
Google Ads Agency: $65.96
PPC Agency Near Me: $65.38
Google Ads Consultant: $61.65
PPC Digital Marketing Agency: $61.42
PPC Agency San Francisco: $59.29
High Speed Business Internet: $56.20
Business Internet Package: $55.23
Email Marketing Solution: $50.49
Financial Auditing Firms: $41.76
CPA for Small Businesses: $38.57
5) HOME SERVICES
When it comes to home services, the highest CPC keywords by far belong to flood and water damage services - We suppose because they're so specialized and expensive.
Here are the highest CPCs we found in the home services space:
Water Damage Restoration Dallas: $250.79
Flood Restoration Chicago: $151.79
Repair flood damage: $132.56
Flood Restoration Services Near Me: $126.28
Water Damage Restoration San Antonio: $122.18
Water Damage Repair Houston: $114.43
Water Damage Repair Near Me: $102.45
Water Damage Repair: $96.54
Water Damage Restoration: $91.07
Emergency Plumbing Services: $82.82
Drain Cleaning Service: $73.87
Heating and Air: $72.19
HVAC Repair Services: $70.84
Emergency Flood Repair: $69.26
Plumbers: $65.54
Commercial HVAC Installation: $62.13
Garage Door Repair: $57.81
HVAC San Francisco: $47.00
Home Security System Installation: $45.54
Window Replacement Companies: $40.53
Duct Cleaning Services: $34.04
One of the reasons home services keywords cost so much is because they have some of the highest Google ads conversion rates - Meaning that once people click on the advert, they have a significant chance of turning into a paying customer.
6) REAL ESTATE
Most people probably won't be surprised to find real estate on this list (because homes are expensive after all) but you may be surprised at the types of keywords with the highest costs per click in real estate.
Interestingly, it isn't keywords like "luxury real estate" that command high CPCs. In fact that particular keyword only commands a CPC of around $4 in the USA.
Instead, It's keywords around selling your house that command the most expensive price tags.
This makes sense for two reasons:
1) This allows realtors to target people looking to sell, where ultimately they earn their commission.
2) It also targets a unique opportunity where cash buyers and investors will often buy houses for cheap as an investment with an all-cash offer.
Let's take a look at the highest CPC keywords in real estate:
Get Offer on House: $189.78
Buy My Home for Cash: $135.73
Quickly Sell House: $131.42
Sell House Fast for Cash: $130.74
Cash Buyer for My House: $113.64
Sell My House Fast San Diego: $100.13
We Buy Houses Fast for Cash: $100.13
Sell Property Fast: $96.24
Cash for Homes California: $90.91
Sell Home to Investors: $88.62
Sell My House Fast Orlando: $85.32
Sell My House Fast Phoenix: $80.27
Sell Fire Damaged Home: $62.08
7) FINANCE
Of course, finance is also going to be an incredibly lucrative space. From investment banking to invoice factoring & business loans - There are a ton of expensive keywords within Google ads that advertisers are bidding on.
Here are the most expensive keywords we found in the finance space, straight from Google ads:
Investment Banking Services: $258.04
Fast Invoice Factoring: $199.41
Credit Line for Businesses: $142.30
Company Credit Line: $130.80
Invoice Factoring California: $119.22
Structured Settlement Loan: $105.20
Structured Settlement Buyer: $94.69
Factoring Company: $86.91
Asset Planning: $85.82
Business Loan: $71.34
Invoice Factoring Company Near Me: $70.27
Wealth Management Services: $64.38
Invoice Factoring for Staffing Companies: $56.00
Business Loan Florida: $54.23
8) INSURANCE
Insurance in some form is as old as historical society, having been used by Babylon merchants over 6,000 years ago!
Today, the industry in the US alone is worth over $2 trillion per year.
Competition is fierce and profitability for insurance companies is gigantic.
It's no wonder then that this industry makes our top list, featuring some incredibly high-cost keywords. Car insurance commands the highest premium for advertisers, whilst surprisingly some other insurance niches like health & life insurance aren't nearly as high.
Here's the top list of high CPC keywords:
Texas Auto Insurance Quotes Online: $98.42
Auto Insurance Quotes Denver Colorado: $94.59
Oklahoma Auto Insurance Quotes: $89.49
Auto Insurance Quotes: $83.16
Business Insurance: $81.87
Car Insurance Quotes: $75.21
Dallas TX Car Insurance: $61.23
Business Insurance Providers: $61.13
Car Insurance Companies Toledo Ohio: $50.90
Insurance Company Tennessee: $39.22
Life Insurance: $32.37 (this was the highest CPC keyword we could find in the life insurance niche)
9) MARKETING & ADVERTISING
Marketing budgets as a percentage of revenue has been sitting at around 10% on average for the past 10 years.
That's a huge slice of the pie spent on marketing & ads.
Additionally, competition is fierce between PPC advertising platforms like Facebook, Google & TikTok to attract a bigger chunk of advertising budgets from companies.
This all creates an incredibly competitive bidding environment within Google ads, which makes the cost per click incredibly expensive for these advertising-related keywords.
Here's some of the highest CPC keywords in marketing:
LinkedIn Advertising: $652.25
TikTok Advertising: $306.10
Google Advertising: $228.73
Bing Advertising: $200.47
Twitter Advertising: $95.68
Cross Channel Marketing Platforms: $56.83
Criteo Alternatives: $54.92
Facebook Ads Alternative: $52.01
Google Ads Alternative: $45.15
Programmatic Advertising Solution: $38.82
Best Ad Exchange: $33.28
Best Ad Platform for E-commerce: $30.68
10) CYBER SECURITY
Next up is cyber security, which is one of the fastest-growing industries in the World for obvious reasons - Hackers are getting more advanced, and almost everything we do is now online.
Large corporations are absolutely petrified about having to announce that their system has been hacked - It can have devastating consequences for businesses.
It's no wonder then that businesses are happy to pay a premium for cyber security and also to make sure they remain compliant with rules and best practices.
Here are some of the highest cost per click keywords in cyber security:
SOC 2 Compliance Companies: $217.51
Get SOC 2 Certification: $177.62
SOC 2 for Startups: $175.35
Cybersecurity Solutions for Small Business: $168.37
Cloud Security Solutions: $162.11
Cloud Security Company: $152.04
Cloud Security Services: $138.57
Cloud Security: $126.71
Penetration Testing Service Provider: $114.35
Vanta Competitors: $111.42
Endpoint Security Companies: $76.02
SOC 2 Type 2 Certification Cost: $65.02
Enterprise Cybersecurity Solutions: $56.16
Cybersecurity Consolidation: $50.68
Network Security Company List: $42.95
Corporate Cyber Security: $41.02
Network Security Services: $33.15
Network Security Company: $29.33
Cybersecurity Solutions: $27.96
11) REHAB
To our surprise the rehab industry in the US commands a significantly higher CPC premium for Google ads than the medical industry or cosmetic surgery industries - As we researched all of these in detail as well.
The average cost of drug rehab is around $18,000 - So rehab centers are willing to spend a premium in order to acquire new customers with Google ads.
Here's the highest CPC keywords we found in the rehab niche:
Drug rehab that accepts Cigna: $141.81
Inpatient rehab Houston: $102.89
Inpatient rehab Las Vegas: $81.03
Luxury Rehab California: $68.28
Rehab Center California: $66.62
Alcohol Rehab LA: $66.62
Alcohol detox center: $64.06
Luxury Detox California: $59.07
Private Rehab: $49.20
THE COST OF KEYWORDS
Hopefully this list has provided you with a very strong idea of what PPC keywords are the most expensive for advertisers on Google.
Some of the numbers are pretty startling, and in some of these niches you certainly wouldn't want to be a victim of Google click fraud (where you end up paying for fake clicks).
We should also mention that the costs will vary depending on the specific location you are targeting. So for example if you decide to geo-target to a high cost city such as Los Angeles for a local service, then you may be expected to pay slightly higher on keywords vs. a low cost city in the US.